Cathy Come Home
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| Cathy Come Home | |
|---|---|
 Carol White as Cathy at the beginning of the play |
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| Written by | Jeremy Sandford |
| Directed by | Ken Loach |
| Starring | Carol White Ray Brooks |
| Composer(s) | Paul Jones Michael Giddings[1] |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tony Garnett |
| Editor(s) | Roy Watts |
| Cinematography | Tony Imi |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC1 |
| Original airing | 16 November 1966 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Wednesday Play |
Cathy Come Home is a 1966 BBC television play by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, about homelessness. An industry poll rated it as the best British television drama ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style, it was first broadcast on 16 November 1966 on BBC1. The play was shown in the BBC's The Wednesday Play anthology strand, which was well known for tackling social issues.
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[edit] Plot summary
The play tells the story of a young couple, Cathy (played by Carol White) and Reg (Ray Brooks). Initially their relationship flourishes and they have a child and move into a modern home. When Reg is injured and loses his job, they are evicted by bailiffs, and they face a life of poverty and unemployment, illegally squatting in empty houses and staying in shelters. Finally, Cathy has her children taken away by social services.
[edit] Reception
The play broached issues that were not then widely discussed in the popular media, such as homelessness, unemployment, and the rights of mothers to keep their own children. It was watched by 12 million people — a quarter of the British population at the time — on its first broadcast. Its hard-hitting subject matter and highly realistic documentary style, new to British television, created a huge impact on its audience.
One commentator called it "an ice-pick in the brain of all who saw it". The play produced a storm of phone calls to the BBC, and discussion in Parliament. For years afterwards, the actress who played Cathy was stopped in the street by people pressing money into her hand, convinced she must be actually homeless.[2]
In a 2000 poll of industry professionals conducted by the British Film Institute to determine the BFI TV 100 of the 20th century, Cathy Come Home was voted second, the highest-placed drama on the list, behind the comedy Fawlty Towers.
[edit] Impact
In light of public reaction to the film, and following on the heels of a publicity campaign led by Willam Shearman and Ian Macleold highlighting the plight of the homeless, the charity Crisis was formed the following year in 1967.
By coincidence, another charity for the homeless Shelter was launched a few days after the first broadcast. Though it was not connected to the programme, "the film (sic) alerted the public, the media, and the government to the scale of the housing crisis, and Shelter gained many new supporters."[3]
However, Ken Loach has said that despite the public outcry following the play, it had little practical effect in reducing homelessness, other than changing rules so that homeless fathers could stay with their wives & children in hostels.[2]
[edit] Production
The play was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, who went on to become a major figure in British film. Loach employed a realistic documentary style, using predominantly 16mm film on location, which contrasted with the vast amount of BBC drama of the time, which was commonly made in the electronic television studio. Union regulations of the time though forced about ten minutes of Cathy Come Home to be shot in this way, with the material shot on electronic cameras being telerecorded, and spliced into the film as required.
The Cinematographer was Tony Imi. Imi's innovative use of a hand-held camera to take moving action shots and close ups gave "Cathy" almost a current affairs feel and a reality which was rare in British TV drama at the time. This produced shots some traditionalists thought "not technically acceptable". Imi commented: "I was stuck in a rut after working on Dr Finlay's Casebook and Maigret – standard BBC productions. All of a sudden, with The Wednesday Play and Ken, there was a newness that fitted into the way I was thinking at the time." Tony Imi died on 8th March, 2010.
Loach's realistic style helped to heighten the play's impact. Many scenes were improvised, and some include unknowing members of the public, such as the final scene in which Cathy's children are taken from her in a railway station (none of the passers-by intervened).[2]
[edit] Availability
In 2003, the play was released on VHS and DVD by the BFI as part of their Archive Television range, but is now out of print. In 2006 it was re-shown for the first time in many years (on BBC Four), as part of a series highlighting the issue of homelessness. It was also shown at the British Film Institute in a 2011 Ken Loach film festival. Along with other Loach films, it is currently available to watch on Loach's YouTube channel. It is also available as a special feature on the 2011 Criterion bluray and DVD release of Kes, another Ken Loach Film.
[edit] References
- ^ "Air Marshal Sir Michael Giddings". Telegraph. 13 April 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5149456/Air-Marshal-Sir-Michael-Giddings.html. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ a b c BBC World Service: Witness: Cathy Come Home, November 16, 2011.
- ^ "Our history". Shelter. October 12, 2009. http://england.shelter.org.uk/about_us/who_we_are/our_history. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
[edit] External links
- Cathy Come Home at the BFI's Screenonline
- Cathy Come Home at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- Cathy Come Home at the Internet Movie Database
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